The Translation of Advertising in the Promotion of Computer Products in Spain

Abstract

This paper is intended to show the way in which cornputer products are promoted in Spain by means of the translation of advettisements originally produced in English for the American market. The Spanish market for th is specific type ofequipment, the media used in this particular case, and the Spanish users' features are briefly explained in order to understand the adaptations that take place in the target texts. Some examples of original printed adverts in English and their versions in Spanish published in popular computer magazines are offered. The contrastive analysis of these pairs of texts shows the differences in the promotion of this type of product in the cultures mentioned and the strategies resorted to by the translator in order to adapt the texts to the addressee's expectations. In this study, 1 shall focus on two main aspects: the way in which comparative advertising - used in the source texts - is avoided in the Spanish versions by means oftranslation strategies such as omission, addi.tion and creation, and the selection of information about the product to be used in the target text.